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Some of the things that I tell my clients when I start working with them:

I am not a solicitor although I have a working knowledge of the law as it affects dentists and their practices. I do know good solicitors and I am able to help them choose one.

I am not an accountant although I know enough to be able to interpret figures from most dental businesses and make vaguely relevant comments and suggestions, but they need someone who they trust and understands their business.

I am most definitely NOT a Financial Adviser or Planner. Again they need an independent who understands them, takes time to listen to their needs and wants and will be there for the long term.

I regularly come across dentists and other individuals who will issue statements about what to do with your spare money, where the next ‘big thing’ is coming from and the strategies they have used. When I ask them why if they’re so hot how come they’re still having to work (as opposed to choosing to) I’m usually told that they caught a cold on “Peruvian Shellac futures” or something equally esoteric.

Often I wonder if the time they spend poring over the Daily Telegraph on Saturdays and with their noses in the Investors’ Chronicle wouldn’t be better spent doing something with more relaxation and less worry about the choices you have made. I’m always curious about these apparently savvy people who spend small fortunes on cars in order to park them on their driveways or car parks for 99% of the time; but that’s a tangent.

So back to the book. Carl Richards is an American financial planner and New York Times columnist with a refreshing attitude to money. Some years ago, in order to explain points to his clients he started drawing simple diagrams on napkins; these are the book’s illustrations. He defines The Behavio(u)r Gap as the distance between what we should do and what we actually do. From the opening chapter, ‘We don’t beat the market the market beats us’ through ‘Financial Life Planning’ and ending with, ‘simple, not easy’ he shines light on important questions.

To quote Seth Godin on the sleeve notes, “smart, tactical and practical advice for anyone who has done dumb things with their money.”